1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device, and more particularly, to an LCD device with enhanced transmittance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device is one of widely used types of flat panel display (“FPD”) device in recent. An LCD device typically includes two substrates including electrodes provided thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates. In such an LCD device, liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are rearranged by voltages that are applied to the two electrodes, thereby adjusting the amount of transmitted light and displaying an image on the LCD device.
Despite ease of slimming, LCD devices may have low front visibility as compared to side visibility. To address such issues, various schemes of arranging and driving liquid crystals have been developed. In addition, to provide a wide viewing angle, research is being continuously conducted on an LCD device in a plane to line switching (“PLS”) mode in which a pixel electrode and a common electrode are both disposed on a single substrate.
The PLS mode is classified as one of a horizontal slit (“H-slit”) mode and a vertical slit (“V-slit”) mode. The H-slit mode includes liquid crystals that are aligned in a direction parallel to a short side of a pixel and a direction of a slit of an electrode is parallel to the short side of the pixel. The V-slit mode includes liquid crystals that are aligned in a direction parallel to a long side of a pixel and a direction of a slit of an electrode is parallel to the long side of the pixel.
Since a viewing angle characteristic is determined by an initial alignment direction, the H-slit mode has a wide viewing angle characteristic in a horizontal direction, and the V-slit mode has a wide viewing angle characteristic in a vertical direction. In monitors and LCDs used in vehicles, and the like, a viewing angle characteristic in a horizontal direction may be more significant than that of a viewing angle characteristic in a vertical direction. Thus, the H-slit mode may be effectively applied to monitors and LCDs for vehicles.